Page 11 of Beyond the Rules
“Really?”
“Aiden’s always been the silent type,” Tanner said. “He’s just even more sothesedays.”
“Whyisthat?”
“Now, see? Not for me to tell,” Tanner said. “If you ever want to know,askhim.”
I was struck by Tanner’s tact. It showed that these men respected each other. My brother had been the quiet type. He’d withdrawn even more after he came back from Afghanistan. Maybe Aiden had been through a similar experience. Just because people were quiet, or loners, or different, they shouldn’t be stereotyped, overlooked or dismissed. We were all humans trying to make the best out of whatever shitty hand life haddealtus.
“I’ll be honest with you.” Tanner levelled his gaze on me. “If we’re coming across a little shell-shocked around you, it’s because we’re not used to having hot, naked girls in ourbathroom.”
Nothing like being called hot while naked to build a girl’s self-esteem.
“You think I’m hot?” My smile widened. “Well, I do like you, Tanner Vazquez. But don’t try to bullshit me. Given this house’s overall hotness level,” not to mention Tanner’s very impressive erection, which lingered, “you guys should be very used to hot, nakedgirls.”
He laughed off my suggestion. “We’re really choosy about who we bring to thehouse.”
“Ha.” I narrowed my eyes at him, then fluttered my eyelashes dramatically. “So this place is not like the ultimate bachelor pad and you guys are not a horny bunch of manwhores?”
“I’m gonna take the fifth on the horny and firmly deny the rest,” he said, laughing. “We’ve got standards, you know. High ones.” He grabbed a bottle from the shelf. “Shampoo?”
“Oh, yes,please.”
His hands were strong but also gentle as he washed my hair and massaged my scalp. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment, because not even in my wildest dreams—and I suffered from those—had I experienced a pair of hands as gifted as his. I had a lot of questions and I had Ulysses to find, but I also remembered my brother’s parting words.Hack the happy,girl,because today is all we’ve got. I’d face my problems and ask my questionsaftermy bath, because every moment counted and tomorrow was never a surething.
Daniel’s memory ambushed me. Unexpectedly, my throat constricted and my eyes swelled with a film oftears.
“You okay?” Tanner asked, noticing the change inmymood.
“Processing.” I blinked away the tears and forced myself tosmile.
“Take your time.” He dipped his hand in the water. “Rinse?”
He really did have a calming effect on me. He made me feel safe.Safe? I hadn’t felt safe, or calm since the day my father left us. What was wrong withmyhead?
When he was done with my hair, Tanner knelt at the far end of the tub and began to soap and knead every inch of me. I loved the way he rubbed my feet, his thumb working my soles, his fingers finding the secret tight spots between my toes, his hands healing and assured. He skipped my sprained ankle, massaged my calves and traced the span of my thighs, scooting up along the side of the tub on his knees. He might use crutches, but he got around quite capably. His hands were like expert divers at work, thrilling my body with histouch.
“Lean forward,” he murmured and I did, so he could soap my back. “I could use a sponge if you’d like, but if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather have nothing between my skin andyours.”
Holy hell. I was pretty sure my pussy was contributing to the rising tide in the tub, because I was flowing like a river. I let out a low moan when his fingers dug into my shoulders and kneaded the knots crunching beneath his fingertips. Hands like his should be illegal on a body as sensitiveasmine.
“Lie back.” His magic hands soaped my neck, glided down my chest and slowly encircled my breasts in a figure eight path that deliberately avoided my tight, aching nipples. “Your nipples look like they want washing.” His tongue ran over his lips, imbuing them with a seductive glimmer. “Am Iright?”
I was alive, something to celebrate. I’d made it this far, not a small miracle. Tanner was here, willing, eager. He was like a reprieve from life, a life that had been stark and harsh for too long. And he was right. I yearned for histouch.
I pressed my breasts against his hands. The smile he gave me was also a smirk of pain. I knew because I felt the same agonizing sexual ache that deepened the line between his eyes and rolled his chiseled jaw. The rough pads of his fingers tripped over my nipples and folded the rubbery flesh down one way then the other, riding a coating of soap in a caress that was also an excruciatingtorment.
“Tanner?” I closed my eyes and tried to keep from whimpering. “Given my hands are useless at the moment, what you’re doing?Torture.”
“I can helpwiththat.”
I opened my eyes and met his gaze. His face was eager but serene and I swear, the dark, long lashes that rimmed his green eyes just added sexy to hissmile.
“You don’t have to do this,youknow.”
“Dowhat?”
“Take care of me,” I said. “I can take care ofmyself.”